


Costumes and Drinks

by jitterygummy



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: College Student, F/M, Modern AU, cheesy star wars costumes, halloween party, slight coffee shop au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 11:49:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12840543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jitterygummy/pseuds/jitterygummy
Summary: Rey is dragged to a Halloween party with the impression that this will be no more fun than being curled in bed watching Netflix. That is until she meets a certain fan of Darth Vader.Modern/College AU. Fluff.





	Costumes and Drinks

“Why did I agree to come to this?” Rey asked, her eyes raking over the crowd throbbing together under pulsing lights.

Finn grinned from behind his green alien makeup. “Because otherwise you’d be eating Halloween candy in front of Netflix.” He grabbed Rey’s shoulder and pulled her toward the bar. “Besides, Poe worked his social magic to get us in here, so you should rock that Padmé costume.”

Rey tugged at the tight white material and bumped someone in a too-long Elsa dress. “I didn’t even want to  _be_ Padmé. I wanted Leia. That dress would’ve been comfortable, not to mention warmer. But no! You had to ask me to come today, and Wal-Mart was out of Leia.”

Finn rolled his eyes and leaned against the bar, ordering something that sounded like it had far too much alcohol. “There’s a cape on that, and it’ll be warm on the dance floor. Just have some fun.”

“What do you want?”

Rey blinked up at the bartender. “Uh, just a Diet Coke.”

The bartender gave Rey a long look but nodded and grabbed a plastic cup. He spooned ice into it and grabbed a nozzle. With his head down, she could see a plastic Darth Vader mask pushed on top of his dark hair. “You a DD?”

“Hm?” Rey tore her eyes from the mask to the cup he pushed in front of her.

“A DD? A designated driver?”

Rey took the cup, feeling Finn tug on her arm. “Oh, yeah. Usually am.”

The bartender nodded and grinned. “Good woman. And nice costume.” He pointed at a Darth Vader control panel printed on the t-shirt stretched over his chest and grinned before turning to someone in a T-rex costume.

Finn tugged again, and Rey stumbled after him, sloshing some of her Diet Coke onto the floor. Finn leaned close so Rey could hear him over the music as they neared the dance floor. “Poe texted that he’s near the DJ.”

They skirted around a group dressed as several  _Game of Thrones_ characters, bumped against a dragon, and stopped at a wall of people jumping to the music. Finn tilted his head to the left, and Rey followed him around the wall until they found an opening around them.

Poe danced by himself near the DJ’s table, the spiraling lights making the orange of his costume light up. He waved as he saw them and held up an almost empty cup. Rey’s boot stepped in something sticky, and she felt the bottom try to stick to the floor while they weaved through a few more groups to Poe. He shouted something at them, but all Rey could hear was a much-too-loud Taylor Swift song. He shook his head and pulled Rey and Finn close, yelling, “Why didn’t Finn keep up with the  _Star Wars_ theme?”

Rey glanced down. The orange of his outfit belonged to a pilot’s costume, complete with boots, and the suit’s system controls. Finn looked bewildered and pointed to his green face. “I’m an alien!”

Poe rolled his eyes and shook his head, taking a sip of his drink. The music changed to something upbeat that Rey did not recognize, and Poe grabbed Finn, dancing madly with him. Rey took a sip of her Diet Coke, bouncing half-heartedly with her friends. Her boot kept sticking to the floor.

She glanced around the crowd, wondering if she could extricate herself without ruining her friends’ fun. A bright green frog ran into a  _Game of Thrones_ dragon, who threw a winged arm over the frog and pulled her into the group to dance.

Another song began, and the crowd cheered. Both Finn and Poe started a dance that everyone seemed to know except Rey.

“I’m going to get some air!” she yelled over the music.

Finn grabbed her shoulder, leaning in to yell in her ear. “I should go with you!”

“I’ll be back soon! I’ll be fine!” As Finn raised his eyebrows in disbelief, she shook her head. “I have spray in my belt! I’ll be okay!”

Finn gave her a look but nodded. “I’ll come find you if you’re not out in two songs!”

Rey nodded and weaved around the throng of people. She nearly tripped on a tail from some costume near the door but managed to push open the door into the cool night air. A line of people waiting to enter the club huddled together near the building, and she walked the opposite direction, making sure to stay near the street lights.

“Too crowded?”

Rey wheeled around, her boot squeaking as her hand flew to the little bottle of pepper spray hidden behind her belt. The bartender with the Darth Vader t-shirt leaned against the building, a smoking cigarette in one hand and a phone with a glowing screen in the other. He stuffed the phone in a back pocket, throwing her a smirk. “Halloween always has too many people, but the only people who really notice are the sober ones.”

Rey took a step closer, glancing to ensure the bouncers of the club were nearby just in case. A plastic lightsaber hung at the bartender’s belt with a piece of tape over the end, likely to keep the blade from sliding out. She squinted at the little name tag pinned to his chest. “Kylo. That’s an… unusual name.”

He gave a small laugh and held out the hand. His Darth Vader mask hung from his wrist by a string. “It’s Ben, actually, but some more… enthusiastic patrons kept trying to find me online, so my boss gave me different name.”

Rey blinked in surprise but shook his hand. “Rey. I see you haven’t labeled me as one of those.”

Ben grinned and took a drag of the cigarette. “Nah. You seem cool, if the  _Star Wars_ getup is anything to go by.”

Rey raised an eyebrow at the glowing stick. “I’m pretty sure Vader wouldn’t like the smoking, considering he needs help breathing on his own.”

Ben laughed and flicked the cigarette, watching the embers drift to the ground. “I know, I know. I tried quitting, but the meds just made me forget everything, including the menu at my other job.” He grimaced and glanced at his watch. “I should mention that this is now my only job.”

“Oh.” Rey chewed her lower lip, unsure what to say to someone she had just met who had lost a job. “That’s… unfortunate.”

Ben snorted and took another drag. “Yeah.”

The awkward silence that fell made Rey realize she should go back inside to find Finn and Poe, but the cool air felt much better than the sweaty crowd in costumes. A small part of her mind also admitted that Ben was hot, but she chalked that up to not seeing many good-looking men in the engineering shop at school.

She fiddled with the cup of Diet Coke in her hand and chewed on her lip again. “You, uh, work here long?”

Ben raised an eyebrow. “Making small talk with the bartender? How cliché.”

Rey rolled her eyes. He had settled further back against the wall, but something told her he was intentionally trying to look cool. “It’s only cliché if I was sitting at the bar.”

“I suppose you’ve got that right.” Ben glanced at his watch again. “To answer your question, I’ve been working here for three years.” He eyed her for a moment. “You don’t seem like the clubbing type.”

Rey shook her head even though he had not actually asked a question. “My friend dragged me out tonight. Clubbing isn’t really my thing.”

“Ah, the poor attempt for an alien?”

Rey agreed with Ben’s analysis, but Finn  _was_  her best friend. “Says the guy in a t-shirt and a three-dollar mask.”

“For your information, I paid  _five_  whole dollars for this thing.” Ben held up the mask, looking dramatically offended. “Plus, grad school is expensive, even if it’s mostly online.”

Rey latched onto the subject, glad to have something else to talk about. “Grad school? What’re you studying?”

“Master’s in computer science.” A mixture of amusement and bitterness crossed his face. “I hear it’ll pay better than bartending when I get a real job.”

“Rey!” Poe shivered as he walked toward them. “You wanna come back in? We ran into Rose!”

He glanced at Ben and gestured back toward the club. Rey gave the bartender an apologetic look and started toward Poe. “Looks like I’m being summoned back.”

“I gotta get back to work anyway.” Ben dropped the cigarette and pressed his boot down on it. “I can get you two back in; I don’t think the bouncers will let you in otherwise with that line out here.”

* * *

 

Rey sat at her desk, staring out the window overlooking the dorm parking lot. Her technical communications textbook lay open, but a Netflix show blared on her laptop.

“Hey, Rey,” Poe’s groggy voice said from the door. His hair stuck up on one side, and the orange pants of his costume from the previous night were rumpled underneath a tank top.

Rey tapped the space bar to pause the show. “You look like hell, Poe.”

Poe grunted and flopped onto her bean bag, holding out a crumpled napkin. “I brought you a Halloween present, as a thank you for driving.”

Rey gave her friend a dry look. “Are you still drunk? Usually you give me food along with the napkin.”

Poe sat up quickly and seemed to immediately regret the sudden movement. He closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “What’s on the napkin is even better than food.”

Rey sighed and leaned forward, plucking the napkin from Poe’s hand. Written in scrawled handwriting, she read,

_‘739-236-7676_

_Ben (aka Darth Vader)’_

Something in Rey’s stomach dropped. “You got the bartender’s number?”

Poe looked up at her and closed his eyes again. “God. Shut your blinds.”

Rey didn’t move. “Why did you get his number?”

Poe flopped back on the bean bag, hiding in the shade provided by Rey’s bed. “I vaguely recall that you two were hitting it off, but I honestly don’t even remember much of what happened after we came back inside.”

Rey stared at the name. There was no way she would call someone she had spent five minutes talking to at midnight.

“Finn thinks you should text him.” Poe had stolen the blanket from her bed and held it over his face. “I agree, and so does Rose. He was hot  _and_ dressed as Padmé’s soulmate. So it’s obviously destiny.”

Rey set the napkin on her desk. “I need to study for that tech com test on Monday.”

“You study more than anyone else. You’ll be fine.” Poe flipped the blanket onto the floor. “Text him or I’ll do it for you.”

Rey put the napkin on top of her textbook. “Why are you pushing this?”

“You two were hitting it off!” Poe laughed and then winced. “No one stands in the cold for that long unless they’ve found someone easy on the eyes.”

Rey raised an eyebrow. “I was out there for five minutes, and you were drunk. You probably think everyone was flirting with you.”

“Aha!” Poe pointed a finger at Rey. “You admit you were flirting.”

Rey threw the napkin at him, but it ended up catching the air and floating to the floor in an anticlimactic fashion. “No, you accused me of flirting.”

Poe sniffed and shook his head. “I did no such thing. I just said you were hitting it off.”

Rey shook her head and turned back to her desk. “I’m too busy for that sort of thing. I only came last night ‘cause Finn promised he’d clean my dishes.”

The bean bag shifted as Poe sat up, and he set the napkin back on her desk. “Live a little, Rey.”

* * *

 

Rey chewed her lower lip. The white words in the little blue bubble had gone blurry from how long she had stared at them, but she knew exactly what they read.

_Hi. It’s Rey (Padme) from last night. Sorry my friend harassed you for your number._

She sighed and set the phone down, her eyes sliding to her still-unfinished technical communications homework. She had been telling Poe the truth; she really did not have time to pursue something with her schedule. Graduating a semester early with an engineering major was no easy feat, but she was already taking out an exorbitant amount for student loans.

Three dots appeared on the screen, and she snatched at her phone. The device slipped from her fingers and clattered to the floor. She dived for it, sliding off her bed and onto the floor. The little ellipse had gone, but no message had appeared.

She got back on her bed, keeping her eyes glued to the screen. The dots appeared and disappeared several times before her phone gave a short vibration:

_no problem_

Rey frowned at the screen, trying to decipher the two short words. She chewed her lip again. He had said that some customers had harassed him in the past. He probably didn’t want to be in the same situation.

The phone vibrated again.  _at least his costume was better than a green alien_

Rey snorted and crossed her legs, grinning at the phone screen. Her thumbs hovered over the keyboard as she debated how to answer him. She did not know how to be funny over a text message. Another message appeared:

_i hope you had a good halloween_

Rey took a slow breath and began to type. _Thanks!_   _I had more fun than I thought I would. I hope your Halloween wasn’t bad, even though you had to work._

She set the phone down and got up, pacing the small room as she took a deep breath. She had never really flirted with anyone before, much less over text. After four paces, she picked up the phone to find several short messages in individual bubbles.

_it wasn’t bad_

_i had more fun than i thought as well_

_you made it better_

_i hope you got your friends home safe_

_they didn’t look very functional_

_i tried not to make their last drinks too strong_

Rey grinned and sat down again, her fingers shaking slightly in excitement.  _Yeah, we all got back just fine. They’re pretty hungover but ok. Not sure if they’ll get their homework done, though._

Rey stared at the screen for several minutes until he responded.

_that’s good_

_make them drink water_

_doyou wantastudy break?_

Rey stared at the last message, her heart thumping with a small thrill of excitement. It looked like he had typed it fast enough to just send it before he could decide otherwise and erase it. At least, that’s likely what she would do.

She took a deep breath and typed,  _Actually, yes. Coffee?_

The answer came almost immediately.

_sounds great_

_frothy monkey in an hour?_

Rey grinned and nodded vigorously, even though he couldn’t see her.  _Perfect._

* * *

 

Rey much preferred this crowd to the one at the club. Clutching her warm cup of tea, she scanned the quaint Frothy Monkey coffee shop. A tall blonde woman sat across from grinning black woman, a redhead sat alone at a table for four with books and papers spread over the surface, and a group sat laughing with one another at a corner table with a card game spread over a small table for one.

Rey spotted Ben’s dark hair by a window, the glow of a laptop against his face. He looked up as she approached and grinned, shutting the computer and shoving it into a black backpack. “Hey.”

Rey took seat across from him, nodding at the backpack. “Did you think I wouldn’t come?”

“No, no!” Ben chuckled and pulled his cup of toward him. “I’ve been studying here for a few hours.” He nodded at the baristas. “I think they’re about to ask me to work here considering how often I’m here.”

Rey laughed and took the lid off her cup to help it cool down. “Maybe then you wouldn’t have to pick up girls in a crowded club.”

Ben wrapped his hands around his cup with a grin. “I should note that I don’t make a habit of that.”

Rey nodded and played with the string on the tea bag. “I don’t either.”

Ben took a sip of his coffee and spoke slowly. “So… what’re you studying?”

“Engineering. I’ve got about a year left of my bachelor’s, if I can get all my classes in to graduate a semester early.”

“I’ve hopefully got one more year of grad classes left.” Ben pushed the cup back and forth between his hands. “But it’s hard to get everything done.”

Rey nodded and rubbed the back of her neck. “I tried working the first two years, but I’m hoping to go to grad school in few years, too, and I needed better grades.”

Ben gave a groan of sympathy. “I was in the same boat in undergrad. I lived in the library back then, but here I can get caffeinated every few hours.”

Rey laughed. “Yeah, green tea is my caffeine limit. I can’t do coffee regularly.”

Ben stared at her in alarm. “How in the world are you still functioning? I made it about a month into undergrad before I became a coffee addict.”

Rey rolled her eyes and took a sip of her tea. “Poe gives me crap about that, too, but I actually  _sleep._ It’s good for you.”

Ben waved a hand in the air. “I’ll sleep when I have my degree.” He grinned and took another drink as if to prove a point. “So, Poe is the terrible alien?”

* * *

 

“I’m sorry I kept you from studying,” Ben said with a wide smile that told Rey he was not sorry at all.

The string lights hanging outside the coffee shop lit the path to the sidewalk, and she looked up at him with a grin. “I’m sorry I kept  _you_ from studying.”

Ben shrugged and held up a fresh cup of coffee – the last one of the night. “I told you. I don’t need sleep.”

Rey swatted his arm like she would with Finn or Poe. “I don’t want you getting sick.”

Ben grinned and ran his free hand through his hair. “My immune system is strong. I’ll be fine.”

Rey nodded and walked with him in comfortable silence until they reached the sidewalk. She held up her phone. “My Uber will be here in a minute.”  

Ben nodded, a nervous expression crossing his face. “Well, uh, thanks for texting me, Rey.”

She held her phone tighter, giving him a smile. “Thanks for the study break.”

A car with an Uber sticker pulled up by the curb. She started toward it, but Ben grabbed her shoulder. “Rey?”

She turned, about to ask him what, but her words died in her throat as his lips covered hers.


End file.
